


Bubbles

by Comedia



Series: Postwar Series [2]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Garrus cameo, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-12
Updated: 2012-09-12
Packaged: 2017-11-14 01:50:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/510034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comedia/pseuds/Comedia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaidan brings a bottle of soap bubbles to play with at the hospital. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Kaidan and Shepard and soap bubbles. Oh, and a confused/amused Garrus is in there somewhere, too. Post-war fic. Extended Cut spoilers, maybe, kind of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bubbles

”You know, if Jack saw us right now she’d throw up.”

Shepard’s voice is still rough, yet another sign that he’s far from healed – as if the bruises weren’t enough.

It’s a sunny day. The sky is clear blue, and Kaidan has been in space for so long that the bright colors still surprise him whenever he decides to look outside, instead of at the man on the hospital bed. He’s heard people say that the sky is blue like Shepard’s eyes, but that’s not true. John’s eyes have much more depth, with a hint of grey – more like a cloudy day that could turn into a full blown storm, or a sunny paradise, at the blink of an eye.

There are fewer machines in the room now, and John is allowed to sit up. Sometimes they’ll let him walk to the bathroom too, leaning on Kaidan’s shoulder for support, and considering what they’ve been through it’s a little ironic that something like “being allowed to walk to the bathroom’” is worth celebrating. But maybe that’s it; maybe their past is the exact reason they’re allowed to be happy about these things now. And seeing John’s smile as he sits down on the bed again, exhausted but happy that he’s making progress, is one of the most endearing things Kaidan’s ever seen. So yeah, it is worth celebrating.

 

When he was a kid his mother taught him how to make soap bubbles. They were great, because you could play with them even when the relentless Vancouver rain just wouldn’t give in. In fact, he managed to catch more than one cold from doing just that; staying out in the pouring rain to be amazed by how it didn’t seem to bother the bubbles at all. As time passed he stopped playing with those kinds of things, but the fascination stayed with him. It was pretty amazing that you could create such beauty just by mixing together a few cleaning-products at home.

Sometimes when he needed to think he still found himself playing with soap bubbles even as an adult. During his teenage years he wouldn’t have dreamed about even being in the same room as those sparkling things ever again, but something changed. It ended up being a sort of meditation to him.

He had forgotten what it was like blowing soap bubbles together with someone else.

John’s eyebrow is raised in question, but he’s grinning from ear to ear. Thinking back Kaidan isn’t really sure how this happened. How do you end up thinking “hey, I bet the Great Commander Shepard will enjoy playing with soap bubbles”?

In fact, considering Shepard’s sense of humor he had almost expected a “I don’t know about those, Major, but there are other kinds of blowing I’d be interested in” in reply, but instead John had cocked his head, staring at the bottle in his hands:

“Show me.”

It didn’t take long for the room to fill with bubbles in all sizes, glistening and floating through the air. Despite the blue sky outside it was like being back on the Normandy, looking out at the thousands of stars flashing by. It took even less time until John started popping the bubbles as they flew by. At first with his fingers, but then he started getting creative. Forehead, foot, tongue…

As John placed a gentle kiss on a bubble passing by, just to flinch and close his eyes as it broke, Kaidan had to turn around for a second – a hopeless attempt to hide the blush that would be showing any second now. But Shepard has told him that he likes seeing him blush, so trying his best to swallow his pride he turns towards the bed once again.

Closing his eyes this time he brings the bubble wand to his lips, close enough to feel tiny sprinkles of the cold liquid on his skin whenever a new bubble is created. There’s the familiar pop as the wand runs out of soap, and he opens his eyes to dip it in the liquid again, but as he glances towards Shepard he stops.

Instead of chasing down helpless bubbles John is simply looking at him through a field of sparkles. And okay, maybe Kaidan suspected that there would be more qualities to soap bubbles than simply pretty colors.

“Bored already?”

John doesn’t answer at first and only smiles, ever so slightly. It’s at moments like these that Kaidan is reminded exactly what they’ve been through. He remembers how nothing used to be this easy, and how a lot of things, just outside those doors, still aren’t.

“C’mere.”

He walks over – the few bubbles that have survived this long breaking against his clothes and skin – and sits down in the chair by the bed. It’s placed at Shepard’s left, so he ends up sitting with his back turned to the window, his shadow cast across John’s chest.

“Not close enough.”

Shepard’s hand is searching, first stroking his knee only to move up to the armrest and grab his wrist. The grip is much stronger than it was only a week ago, and Kaidan can’t help but to smile. Soon he won’t be making visits anymore; soon John will be able to leave this place and then they’ll return here, together, only for check-ups and rehab.

Instead of leaning into the touch Kaidan brings the bubble wand to his lips once again, sending a stream of bubbles straight into Shepard’s face. He’s interrupted when John lets go of his wrist to gently place two fingers against Kaidan’s lips.

“I could watch you do this forever.” He whispers, his thumb tracing the bottom lip. “Do you know how much…?”

“I’m sorry to disturb.” Garrus sounds even more amused than usual, and he doesn’t look sorry at all.

Sometimes Kaidan gets jealous of that damn Turian. There’s this look that Shepard seems to have reserved for Garrus, and Garrus alone – grinning from ear to ear, beaming like a kid at a Blasto movie. He tries to remind himself that there’s no Shepard without Vakarian, but sometimes that will leave him wondering about his role in all of this.

“Garrus!” John waves at the Turian with his left hand, the gesture kind of awkward, as he keeps the right hand pressed against Kaidan’s lips. A few soap bubbles are still intact and floating around the room, glittering like there’s no tomorrow.

“Is this some kind of important, human ritual? If so I can come back later.”

At Garrus words John’s smile wavers, just a little, and the wrinkles at his eyes become much more prominent as he seems to be deep in thought. “Know what? It kind of is. Why don’t you come back in an hour?”

As the door slide shut behind Garrus, and John reaches for the bubble wand whispering “my turn”, Kaidan really hopes that no evil bastard decides that this is the perfect day to explain to a certain Turian what soap bubbles are. For another hour he’s perfectly fine with it being a mysterious human ritual that they need to perform alone.

John’s lips pucker as he sends a storm of bubbles dancing across the bed sheets, and yeah, he also sends shivers down Kaidan’s spine.

“Want me to show you how to make a big one?” Kaidan asks; his voice much more husky than he intended it to, but it’s okay because John likes that. He’s still getting used to this; doing things he normally wouldn’t do and saying things he normally wouldn’t say. This isn’t just a world without Reapers, in some ways it’s a new world all together.

Shepard’s eyes are playful as he glances towards Kaidan, and nodding he moves a little to the left, making room for him to sit by his side. He puts one arm around Kaidan’s shoulders, reaching up to play with the neatly styled hair, and his voice is tired but there’s a smile in there somewhere, and that’s all that matters.

“Yeah, show me.”


End file.
